GemNika's Writing Corner
by GemNika
Summary: I want to promote writing across the board, so come on in and ask me a question. Let's get some discourse going. Rated T for safety's sake.
1. Intro and Pep Talk

**This is not a real story.**

 **This is your chance to get to know me.**

 **This is my chance to give my readers advice, to talk with aspiring writers.**

* * *

As my readers know, I've been doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and my story updates are currently on a weekly(ish) basis for the month of November.

What many of you might not know is that I started really writing only two years ago. The first story I ever wrote, I published on this site. Without revision. Without proofreading. I wrote and when I finished for the night, I posted the chapter. _He Might Be the One_ is a train wreck, but I won't go back to edit it; at least, not right now. Because while I cringe as I read those first chapters, it reminds me that I started with no real knowledge under my belt aside from a love of the Fairy Tail characters and a desire to write _something_. The fact that I still get reviews on it, and that people tell me it's one of their favorite stories, warms my heart and gives me the push to keep writing.

It's not often that we really get to talk with one another on this site. I never have time to respond to every review that I get - and believe me, I wish I did because you're taking the time to review my story and I _want_ to thank you all personally for that. Sometimes I'm asked for assistance by my readers, and I try my damnedest to be there for them, to help and nurture their growth as writers themselves. I _want_ you all to write.

But, sadly, I don't have clones who can handle my schoolwork, being a mother, being a wife, chores, bills, reviewing and responding to reviews, and writing. I'm sure there are other responsibilities in there, but I probably forgot about them (oops).

What I do have, however, is this deep desire to see you all succeed in your endeavors. I want to pass on the knowledge I've gotten from my own writing, from my classes, from _life_ in general. Some of the stuff, you just pick up along the way after you step in a pile of shit and smear it all over your pristine white writing carpet. I know I did several times in my stories.

So, I'll start this weird little series off with something I wrote for the Pep-Talk Forums on NaNoWriMo. You can get to know me a little bit, and hopefully I can help you get the pep back in your writing step.

* * *

I'm normally a serial writer, and currently have six ongoing novel-length works in progress right now. But, I've taken this month off from working on any of those to do NaNo. Week two hit me hard. I've never, in the two years I've been writing, stuck to a single story for this long. I get a chapter written, then mentally switch gears to the next story in my rotation. The next one-shot, or ongoing chapter-story, or even a quick outline for an idea that popped into my head that I just have to get down.

Needless to say, I forced myself to push through the desperation and temptation to pick up one of my other stories and just work on it for a little bit. The closest I came was reading something I'd been working on and actually put on hold to do NaNo, but then I closed the document and jumped right back into my novel. Every day when I sat down to write last week, I questioned why I was still doing this, what I was really going to accomplish with killing myself and harping on every character that spilled from my fingertips.

And just when I was ready to hang up my writing hat and crawl into a fuzzy blanket and read too much fanfiction to be healthy... When I stared at the blinking cursor and thought about the 17,000 words I'd written so far and how I didn't think they were going to stay in any later drafts... I had that moment of clarity that we always talk about with vague hand gestures and twinkling eyes. I thought I'd written my characters into a corner, that my main character wasn't acting like herself, but I used that doubt and fear I was feeling and crammed it into each sentence. And by the time I was done writing at the end of each night, I would pull my head out of the world I'd created as a panting mess and stare at the words on the screen. I'd wonder how they managed to make it there, when I was running from the guards through poisoned brambles right along with my characters. How could I have possibly written a thing while she was trying to kill the man who saved her from the prison.

The epiphany, the muses, or just a good wallop from a fiery halibut of inspiration right in the center of the brain. Whatever you want to call it, it's there and it'll happen when you think nothing will ever come out of the cramping fingers and excessive backspacing you're doing. You could be scrubbing between your cheeks or picking belly button lint, and it'll hit. And when it does, harness that and latch on like a creepy little level five stalker with a sniffing fetish. I sure did, and it got me to the halfway point.

One other tip, for those of you still reading this:

 **Make it weird.** If you're not just a little freaked out by the insanity you've just put down, dig deeper. Make yourself extremely uncomfortable, and then just go with it. Pull out the hot pants and let your oddball come to the keyboard, because that is when the real magic happens. You could compare a man losing his virginity to jumping crotch-first into a fire-nado of lust, and even if it never makes it past your first draft, you'll still know that you have the ability to write something so off-the-wall.

Because you _are_ creative. We have voices that need a microphone to shout their stories to the world. This is the perfect opportunity to snake it up and shed your normality. So when you sit down to write, don't think about how many words you're getting down. Just go for it. Dance like nobody's watching, and write like you've just gotten frostbite in your fingers and you have to finish the story before they fall off...

Extra points if you dance while writing with frostbite.

* * *

So, here's what I want from you, fellow readers and writers. Ask me a question. A whole series of questions.

What things are there that you want to know about writing?  
Plot hole issues? Character development? How to get into the writing mood?  
The sky's the limit.

Now, I don't claim to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination. I'm just a woman who enjoys telling a (debatable) good story and making my readers (hopefully) feel something while they read. I'm no Koontz or King or Rice or Ward or Hubbard. And if there's something you don't agree with, by all means, _please_ let me know. I want to learn from you all as well.

There's so much animosity in the world nowadays, and I'd much rather propagate a love for texts and creativity than hatred. Well, unless that hatred is in the form of characters interacting with one another, then it's totally fine.

I hope to hear from you all.

(insert furious backspacing because my fingers have given up on properly typing a valediction)

 _~~GemNika._


	2. Writer's Block

**Questions Answered**

 **Part 1**

* * *

 _ **Question 1:**_ _How do you deal with writer's block?_

There are countless ways out on the internet (and hiding in little dusty corners of bookshelves) to get through writer's block. And the more you search, the more you'll find the same advice cropping up again and again.

 _Keep Writing_.

And it's true. What they don't say is that the mantra of "keep writing" is the hardest part of this whole thing. Because we've all been there, staring at the blinking cursor and hating the blank page in front of us. I know I do every time I start a new document. I just want the hard part to be over so I can enjoy what came from my fingertips.

So, how should you deal with writer's block? A good portion of this is directed toward the Block in the middle of something, not with a brand new story (completely unwritten); that part will come afterward.

Step one is to keep writing. But step 1A is to step back from what you're working on and think about _why_ you have this particular block. Look at each of the following things, and decide whether it applies to your situation:

 _Characters._ Are the characters just not speaking to you any longer? Whether it's fanfiction or your own original work, they should have some sort of say in this creative process. Sometimes, we get so wrapped up in writing this one particular story that we forget the characters have voices of their own. It's perfectly fine to let the characters have free reign, because you can always go back and tone things down if they get out of hand… or you'll find that it was just the thing you needed and it's given you a whole slew of opportunities for your story.

 _Plot._ Maybe you're partway through this story and you're re-thinking the entire plot you'd planned out. Or maybe you're not a planner at all and now you're wondering where the story is going in the first place. When I get to this particular point, I take a break from writing for a day or two and go back to read what's already been written, plus the things I've outlined for the future (if available). Sometimes that's enough for me to see where I was going with the story and adjust the things I was planning accordingly. Other times, I get new ideas (yet again) and just sit and think about how I can tie those new elements into the story without it being ridiculous and unbelievable.

 _Ending_. Ah, the dreaded end of your story. This is the one that always gets me. I never want the story to end, and I just never know how to end it. Just take a look at _He Might Be the One_. I took a hiatus on that particular story because I was getting toward the end of it and didn't want to stop. But when I sat down to write the end, as well as writing the end of _The Shackled Rune_ and _Her Phantom Arc 1_ , I just let it flow. I didn't question what I was writing, and I kept reminding myself that all I had to do was tie it to a close. Somehow. There couldn't be a cliffhanger ( _Her Phantom_ notwithstanding, because that was leading one arc to another), and there needed to be some sense of resonance with you readers. While writing the end of anything, I constantly ask myself, "Does this feel like the end? If this was a movie, would I be alright with it ending here?"

If one of those three points isn't what's missing from you being really inspired by the story, go back to the very beginning (no matter how far into the story you are) and see what you were writing when you felt like it was the most amazing story in the world. Sometimes that can give you the push you need to get back into the story and keep writing.

Another thing to try is replaying/rewatching whatever it was that inspired you to write the story. What birthed the story idea?

For _LittlePrincessNana_ 's NaNo project, she got halfway through her novel and hated nearly every word she wrote. And her husband helped her get her groove back by suggesting she sit down and play the game that had given her the inspiration for her story. She hated the characters, their interactions, the plot itself, pretty much everything. But after putting the computer down and just letting herself enjoy the game she was playing, she found that spark again. Nana ended up scrapping the 25k she'd already written and started over, much more in love with everything she was writing and more connected to her story than she'd been with the first draft.

Now, a quick note on "scrapping" your writing.

Let's say you're just hating _everything_ you wrote. **Don't delete it.** Even though you look at it and think it's a pile of garbage, create a new document for your next try. Take that shitty one and put it to the side with a note of some sort about what you _didn't_ like about what you'd written. Maybe it just doesn't work for the story you're writing. But that doesn't mean you can't find something else it would work in. Maybe there's some great dialogue in there, or a really wonderful description. Keep it all and weed through it when you feel like working on something different or new. That could be just the bit of inspiration you need to start writing a masterpiece.

So, for the most part, I've given the same advice as the others. _Keep writing_. But there are times when you just need a break. And breaks, believe it or not, are good for you. They help you recharge and stop stressing so much about what you're writing.

I'm currently in the middle of a slightly unplanned break myself. I'm working on my stories here and there, but I'm also really enjoying not being in school for the next month and spending time with my family. I'm writing _this_ because my husband's asleep and my son is playing on the computer. I've got the free time to do it. Not so much of a "block" for me, but preemptive relaxation before you get to the Block usually helps to make sure it doesn't come up and whack you in the face with a hammer.

Now I've gone through what to do when you're in the middle of a story and the Block hits. But what about when you're staring at the cursor on a fresh story that you were all giddy to write up until you sat down? What do you do then?

It's probably gonna sound a little silly, but just do it. Just start writing. I'll give you an example.

#

I have a story planned for some point in the future, about Mard Geer and Lucy. A one-shot, or maybe a two-shot (since we all know that my one-shots rarely _stay_ that way). I've got some outlining stuff done for it, just the basic plot and a couple lines of dialogue that came to me while talking to Nana on Skype. But nothing solid. No beautiful descriptions of things. Here are the first few lines of my outline for it, all for the first scene that leads up to the scene break.

 _Jackal being a good guy and getting hit with a spell that makes him go all psycho Etherious. And Lucy trying to reason with him._

 _Except it doesn't work and he blows up her damn knee, crippling her (not permanently)_

 _Or maybe he'll slash her whole leg open and use an explosion on her knee at the same time. Fuck all her shit up. She passes out from the pain, the last thing she sees is Jackal's beasty body jumping through the air and away from her._

Take a look at it. I've given myself options right away on what I'll do with it. But the basic premise is there. _Jackal and Lucy fighting each other, and her reasoning with him_. And there's a reason for it. _He was hit with a spell_. Now it's just a matter of sitting down and writing it. And I'll be honest, I really want to write this one. What happens later is what I _want_ to get to, but I have to give you guys a beginning; otherwise you'll be super confused about why this next part happens.

 _When Lucy wakes up again, she's in a bed she's never been in before. She won't be in the FT infirmary. So she wakes up and sees Mard sitting in an arm chair, reading a book._

And I could just as easily start with her waking up and do the Jackal part as a flashback, but think about it this way…

Giving the reader conflict right away sucks them into the story. It doesn't always have to be a fight of some sort. It could be something as simple as your character having some sort of internal conflict. (Like trying to decide what to wear, but for the love of god… if you're going to do that, make it _relevant_ to the story in some way)

Alright, so I have the beginning outline, and I know what the next scene is going to be. Now it's just a matter of sitting down and writing it, right? So… I'll force myself to write something for the beginning right here. I won't edit it (aside from spelling errors) so you guys can see what it looks like when I type a first draft. It might not make it into the real story, but that's not important _right now_. What's important is that I write _something_ to get the ball rolling, then I can keep that momentum and finish the piece.

If I have to pause for some reason, I'll put it in parentheses in a separate paragraph.

 _(Like this)_

Okay, here we go...

#

Things had been going so well for her up until that point. The demons of Tartarus had turned over a new leaf and they were allies. In a sense. They weren't enemies any longer, so Lucy had been counting it as a win. And she'd actually been enjoying her time with Jackal on a cooperative mission between their guilds - the first of many, Makarov had been hoping - all the way through a creepy forest and disgusting marsh that smelled like rotten fish and moldy fries.

She still wasn't sure why it had smelled like fries.

But as she jumped to one side to avoid being hit with an explosion from the demon who'd been her partner, Lucy really couldn't find it in herself to care about the smell of the marsh. "Jackal!" she shrieked, covering her head to protect it from falling debris. "Jackal, stop!"

They'd long since passed his wild, maniacal cackling phase and now she was faced with his Etherious form.

 _(Paused to google Jackal's Etherious Form so I can properly describe it)_

Gone were his golden human eyes and the familiar line of his jaw. Now, pure white glared down at her from above a furry, snarling muzzle. He didn't speak anymore. Now it was all growls and too-fast slashes from his claws. Random explosions lighting up the night and surrounding her in a fiery flurry.

"Just calm down!" she shouted. "You don't have to do this! We can get someone to change you back and stop the - ACK!"

Lucy dodge another attack, feeling the ends of her hair crinkling from the fire that licked at her side. She crashed to the ground and scrambled to find some strategy she could use to get away. Just enough for her to keep him back.

That small distraction was enough for him though. Jackal channeled his curse into the knee he'd shattered nearly a year prior, still feeling his connection to the joint even after all this time. Lucy screeched in agony as an explosion blew her reformed kneecap apart, splitting the skin and sending thick trails of blood streaking down her leg. It was nearly enough to send her spiralling into unconsciousness, even as he came closer. Close enough for his clawed hand to wind around her throat and lift her writhing body into the air. For his hot, foul breath to feather across her face.

"J-Jackal, please…"

#

So, that's the first draft of the beginning. I just wrote it and let whatever came to mind out within the scope of my vague outline. Do marshes smell like moldy fries? I don't know, and I don't think I'll keep that in the story when I revise it, but the point is that I wrote _something_. It doesn't always have to be great. Hell, most times the beginning of your story will get edited like crazy because after you get to the end of chapter 1, you'll go back and look at those first few lines and say, "Meh, I feel the story now… Lemme fix that up."

The possibilities are endless when you start writing your story, and I know that's pretty damn daunting when you're first starting out. Hell, it's daunting to _me_ , and I've been writing fics for two years now. Writing is what I'm most passionate about, and I still cringe when I start a new story because I just don't know where to begin.

You're not alone in that, I can promise you that.

So… let's recap.

When writer's block hits… keep writing. Push through it and worry about making it great during revision. If it's really kicking you in the teeth, then take a break and do something you enjoy, then come back to it and try again.

* * *

At this point, the one question kinda took hold of this post. And I'm sure I'll make another post about writer's block in the future in regards to other things (I can't think of any right now, but we'll see). And you guys are more than welcome to ask more questions about it in response to what I wrote here.

So, before I close this out, I'll answer one more question. Just a small one though.

 _ **Question 2:**_ _Have you seen Gakuen Alice? Fullmetal Alchemist? Naruto? Hunter x hunter? Stuck between writing novels and hating drabbles._

I haven't seen _Gakuen Alice_ , _Fullmetal Alchemist_ , or _Hunter x Hunter_. I have seen Naruto for the most part, since my husband was watching it while I was trying to write or do homework. I've got a FT/Naruto crossover planned with a Gaara/Lucy pairing, but that's still in its infancy for plotting.

My current fandoms that I'm willing to write for (comfortably) are:  
Fairy Tail, Bleach, Magi, Harry Potter (but I won't write smut for it), Seven Deadly Sins, and _maybe_ Naruto.

As far as being stuck between drabbles and novels, there's a great in-between for that. Short stories and novellas.

For fanfiction purposes, a novella is a great one. It's not normally a publishable length, although that might be changing over the next few years. Here are some industry-standard guidelines:

Flash Fiction: Under 1,000 words  
Short-Short Story: 1,000 - 1,500 words  
Short Story: 1,500 - 30,000 words  
Novella: 30,000 - 50,000 words  
Novel: 50,000 - 300,000 words

I will say that most short stories being published in literary magazines usually fall within the 5,000 - 7,000 word range. That's 25 pages or less, double-spaced, with 12-pt font.

But, you've got options. And, if anything, don't worry about the word count or trying to categorize it while you're writing. Just write and see what happens and how many words come out when you're done. Now, if you're specifically going for a short story or novella, then keep those _guidelines_ in mind (they're not rules, just suggestions) so you know which things to include and which ones to leave out.

As an example, my story _Tearing Me Apart_ is only 34,000 words. It's a novella. But with it I was able to span over a decade, because I chose specific scenes that furthered the plot instead of getting into all the gritty details of _every_ interaction between the characters. Writing shorter stories is a little harder when you have an idea that really belongs in a novel, but I believe all of you are capable of it.

* * *

So, send some more questions. I still have the reviews queued up from chapter 1, waiting to be answered. I'm definitely willing to take more questions. And if something in this didn't fully answer your question, then ask away. Get as specific as possible. Just remember that whatever you ask in a review will be posted here (unless I just use the bare bones idea of your question). If you want me to answer the question in private, then message me.

And, for anyone who's asked me questions in messages, if your situation comes up in something I'm writing for this series, I'll ask your permission before using your name or any specifics.

Until next time!

~~GemNika


	3. Writing Mature Content

**Questions Answered**

 **Part 2**

* * *

I'd like to apologize right now for not answering anything in this since December. That's just shitty of me. I had a fulltime course-load this past semester with five classes though, and it took everything I had just to try and get my regular stories updated at all. But the semester's over now, and I have a couple days before I start up on the summer semester and finish my degree.

Now, I've gotten some really great questions from you guys, and I know you're eager to have them answered. I promise, I'll answer every single one that's come through the reviews at this point. I might even write up a couple of these chapters right now to have them queued up for posting. We'll see.

So, let's get to question number one.

* * *

 _ **Question 1:**_ _Smut advice for the young and/or inexperienced._

Alright, this is a question that I actually had to sit and really think on. It's kind of a hard thing to answer, to be honest. Like, I can sit and tell you how to write a sex scene, but if you're young… It kind of makes me uncomfortable to answer it. Trust me, I'll explain why.

So, I know some number of my readers are teenagers. And I know the rules on this site say that we can't post MA material, and I do it anyway. (Shit, don't tell the admins about that…) But I can kind of write it off while posting as, "I'm writing this for mature audiences, not for kids to read my porn." I also know how the internet works (sort of lol, not in a super technical sense) and that people who technically shouldn't be reading what I post, are reading it. But I'm not actively going out of my way to say, "Hey kiddos on the playground! Take a look at this porn I wrote!"

Giving smut-writing _advice_ kind of falls in the same vein for me. I don't want to give advice on writing sex scenes to people under 18, because I'm pretty sure that's illegal in some places. It's also part of the reason that the CFLA (Crack Fiction Liberation Army) community that I was a part of got "disbanded" by us mods. There were underage writers and readers in there, and what we talked about was very clearly "adult" conversation. If that makes sense. It's one thing to read my smutty writing when you're thirteen, fourteen… hell, even seventeen. It's another thing entirely for me to actively tell you how to write about characters fucking.

However! There's another part of me that really does want to answer this question. And that's because there are people who might be reading this that are adults, but are inexperienced. They haven't had sex for one reason or another. I know a few people who are sex-repulsed (a nifty term that I learned recently), but they want to write scenes of their characters, who aren't sex-repulsed, getting their freak on.

If this was on another site where you had to verify you're over eighteen, I would give a much more in-depth response to the question. As it stands, I'll give you guys the answers that I'm comfortable giving, because I know we're in mixed company.

(And to the ones who are under eighteen and reading this… please don't tell me that you're under eighteen. Please. For my own sake and for plausible deniability… don't. Also, I'm not trying to single anyone out in regards to the vague-ness, or make anyone feel like they're less of a writer because I won't fully answer this question. It's as much for your benefit as it is for my own personal mental state.)

Alright… So, how to write the "mature" scene…

Okay… So… Words. Uh… Sex things… Hand gestures... Penis!

Alright, I'm just playing. I needed a little laugh for a moment.

I guess a good place to start would be talking about the difference between Romance and Erotica. For a while, I didn't know there _was_ a difference between the two. I just thought that Romance was the big umbrella and Erotica fell under it. Which it does… sort of. They're both part of the same literary branch, involving the relationship between two people, that isn't platonic. The real difference comes down to the details.

So, what is Romance? I won't get into all the technical bullshit. A quick google search can tell you about the history of the Romance genre. But if we want to get super reductive here, then _Romance_ is about the _Relationship_. A good example would be those god-forsaken slow-burn fics (that I love so fucking much), that focus on building the relationship between the characters and not the sex. An example for the ones who read all of my stories would be _Lean On Me_ (ElfLu).

Alright, then what's Erotica? Well, I think the easiest explanation of Erotica is that it's straight up porn. I write a lot of Erotica _scenes_ in my stories. Any time you get a solid description of the fucking, that's jumped dick-first into Erotica territory. Another way to think of it is like this. You know PWP ("Plot, what plot") stories? Erotica. There _can_ be plot in erotica, and there can be erotica interwoven in a plot. But if the story hinges on the sex scenes, then it's Erotica the Genre.

Again, this is super reductive, and there are nuances to each of the genres. Also stories _can_ shift between the two. Or even have an even combination of both.

What I'll talk about to answer this is how to combine Romance and Erotica. Without giving too much detail. I hope.

The best way I've found to write out those mature scenes isn't in writing the actual _sex_ part of it. Yes, if you want to write Erotica, then you get super detailed. If you're writing a Romance that has a sex scene, make it about their relationship. Make it about the emotion behind what they're doing. You can enhance a story with a sex scene by taking it away from the physicality and showing how the actual relationship between the characters is affected by this moment.

So ask yourself a few questions before you dive into writing that scene.

 _What makes this special?_ Decide whether it's one person's first time, both of their first times, just a random fuck in an alley. You need to know why you should spend time writing _this_ scene out of every other scene. If you're going for Erotica, you don't really need a reason to write sex scenes; they're expected. But if you're writing Romance, then there has to be a reason for the readers to see that scene in particular.

 _What's your intent, as the author, for this scene?_ Now this could vary depending on the story you're writing. Maybe it's a crazy non-con or dub-con scene, and you want to focus on how fucked up the situation is. Maybe you want to focus on the emotion behind their first night as a married couple. Or, as we know is common in the Fairy Tail fandom, maybe it's a mating ritual and you'll be doing some world-building (setting up lore and things) with this scene. Or maybe it's a BDSM couple, and they're exploring things. I'd be very careful with this, unless you're already in the BDSM community. It's very easy to misrepresent what it is that those in the BDSM community do, and the best course of action is to not write it until you've really had some time to do solid research. The easiest way to do that is find a forum or someone knowledgeable in what being in the BDSM community is really about, and ask _all the questions_!

 _What makes this scene different from the other times they could have sex?_ If you can't answer this one easily, then reconsider putting the smut in. Now, if it's the first time they bang, I can see it being important. Or if they're breaking up and this is a "goodbye kiss" scenario. Maybe you're only writing the foreplay that leads up to the sex, and something important happens during that. Or plenty of other reasons.

Let's say you're determined to write _the sex._ Fine. I usually am, so I totally understand. But how do you go about writing that smut scene?

Like I said before, put the _emotion_ in it. It's one thing to have that physical side, and even beautiful descriptions of what shit feels like when it's touched and so on, but finding the balance between physicality and the emotional connection (or even the emotional disconnect) is what grounds the reader.

The easiest way to go about doing this is to get in the character's head. What are they thinking about while having sex? Are they focused only on what's happening right then? How does this compare with things they've experienced before? Or is the character also inexperienced and this is new territory for them? If that's the case, then how does it feel, emotionally, to be doing something new like this?

Now, I won't tell you what to write and what not to write when it comes to smut. That's for you to decide. The best way to determine how to go about writing it is to just try it and see what you think. Maybe try reading other works to see how those authors tackled the smut issue, and decide what you liked about it and what you didn't like.

A lot of it boils down to practicing your writing.

"But Gem," you might be saying, "This doesn't really tell me how to write it. What if I've never done [sex things]?"

That… is a great question. I am _not_ telling you to go out and do whatever it is you want to write about. Some people write from experience, while others just wing it. To be perfectly honest, I do a little of both. Sometimes I ask my husband to reenact a scene with me, so I can make sure it's physically fucking _possible_ for people who aren't gymnasts to get into whatever position I have in mind. Other times, I stare at a blank wall and picture it in my head and just pretend I know what the hell I'm talking about when it comes to Lucy getting spanked and loving how it feels to have hot wax poured on her body.

I'm not saying you need to go out and do it… whatever _it_ may be.

I guess what I'm getting at is this: you don't always have to write the "mature" scenes. There are a lot of stories that don't have that content in them, and they're fucking majestic. If you'd like an example, check out _rhosinthorn_ and her story "Still Standing" - it's a slowburn with absolutely _no_ smut, and it's amazing. Some people just don't write smut for one reason or another.

On the other side of the coin, there's _apriiil_ and her "Fairies and Their Kinks" story collection, where she's working on figuring out her "smut voice." Basically, it's her way of determining where she wants to be in regards to writing the sex scenes. Some people like only writing foreplay. Some like to take it to the end. It really depends on you as a writer.

If you're inexperienced, you don't need to write those scenes just to have a good story. Some of the best stories out there don't have them. If you're underage, why are you even considering writing a smut scene? I don't want to sound condescending, but a lot of the time readers can tell when it's a "young person" writing smut, simply based on some of the details that get put in there.

Unless you're writing a parody of some sort, no one needs to know the exact measurements of a penis. No one _thinks_ in regards to their precise dick size. It's weird to even read something like:

 _He whipped out his throbbing twelve inch cock and wrapped his hand around the six inch girth._

Dicks are not that big, and if they are... that shit is _not_ going inside someone easily...

I hope that helped. Maybe one day I'll come back to this question when I can think of more to add to it that isn't a play-by-play on writing sex. Maybe. But, look at that, there was some specific advice in there after all.

Seriously, that dick thing gets on my nerves to no end and just ruins the whole scene for me when I read it.

* * *

And now I'll take one small question that's easier to answer. That one took a lot out of me.

 _ **Question 2:**_ _I'm just wondering if you listen to music or something along those lines as your write, or as an inspiration. If you do, what kind do you listen to? If you don't, what do you do for inspiration?_

It really depends. When I'm writing action scenes for things, I tend to put on my Pandora playlist that's loaded up with video game music; things like the Dragonborn song from Skyrim, Boss music from any Final Fantasy game, etc. For some stories, having music in the background is too distracting, because I end up putting more focus on trying to find the perfect song to fit the mood.

For _Cross Point_ , it's fifty-fifty. I had the songs picked out for each chapter beforehand, but some of them have changed since I first chose them. So for some of the chapters, I have the song playing almost constantly while writing the chapter to keep myself in that song's "headspace." Remember that chakra-balancing Reiki scene in Chapter 14 of _Cross Point_? For that one in particular, I searched Youtube for a tantric/meditation sort of song that I could just play while writing out how Bickslow healed Lucy and aligned her chakras. Other times, I don't have the song chosen for the chapter anymore, so I write the things I have plotted out and just let it flow. When I pick the song, I go back through the chapter and listen to that bitch on repeat while I'm revising to see if it inspires me to add anything to the chapter.

If I'm not listening to music though, I just have to have background noise. Even white noise works. Just something so I'm not only hearing the keys clicking - because that makes me super fucking tired and then I fall asleep while writing the chapter.

My absolute favorite thing to listen to that isn't music though… Bob Ross. No bullshit. If my husband isn't using the television - we tend to sit next to each other on the couch while I write and he plays whatever his new video game is - then I hop on Netflix and put on some _Joy of Painting with Bob Ross_. And I just keep that soothing ass voice drifting in the background while I write. When I get to a point where I need to look away from the screen - whether I'm curious about what he's painting or if my eyes are starting to hurt… or if I need to drink something... or breathe sometimes - Bob Ross is there with that beautiful afro and even more beautiful artwork. He's just so relaxing.

* * *

That's it for questions this time around. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Keep sending in those questions, and I'll do my best to keep answering them!

~~GemNika


	4. Plotting, Posting, and Publishing

**Questions Answered**

 **Part 3**

* * *

 _ **Question 1:**_ _Character doesn't want to say the right thing to move the plot. How do I get past it?_

Normally I would have waited to answer this one since it came later in the queue, but I've put off so many of these for so long, and I don't want you to be waiting for an answer from me when you need help with your story! (Yikes, super sorry about that).

I've had this problem a lot in the past, and it sometimes still does happen to me. So know you're not alone in this. What it really boils down to is how badly you want to stick with the plot you have in mind. If you have this grand idea that hinges on a particular character's dialogue in a particular moment, then make sure the things leading up to that will make that crucial piece of dialogue seem natural.

What the hell do I mean by that?

So when I sit down to plot out a story, I do it one of two ways (usually a little of both). I'll give some examples with older chapters of _Cross Point_. I was going to do spoilers for this part, but I decided that you guys seeing the plotting part when you've already seen the finished chapter might work a little better.

 **1\. I write scenes.** The things that are happening in the scene, background information. Pretty much, anything that isn't dialogue. Sometimes it's in paragraph form, and other times it isn't. Either way, this part is whatever comes to mind while the scene is in my head. What I see or hear or feel from a character's perspective. This is the outline from chapter 9 of _Cross Point_ , before Lucy finds him on the rooftop and they start dating, and what I used to help guide me when I started writing the chapter.

 _Four days after previous chapter:_

 _Raijinshuu returns from mission, Bix is stressed. Had a hard time focusing on the mission, Ever got hurt because of it. Totems reminding him he's only got a couple days left to meet his goal while he's walking around after leaving the guild that night. Feeling shaky, etc. Sees his dealer_ _,_ _(make note of tattoo on dealer's forearm, to be referenced when Laxus kills the dealer in Ch. 19), tries to ignore him._

 _Dealer calls out to him, and Bix caves. Spiralling thoughts while he shoots up in an alley, hearing totems telling him he shouldn't be doing it, what would Lucy think, etc._

So those couple paragraphs ended up being a good chunk of the chapter. These are short, open-ended, and left a lot to the imagination when it came time to actually write the chapter. I got to decide how I wanted the scene to really go, what the voices he was hearing would say, and so on, while I wrote the chapter. This is definitely a crucial scene, because he's shooting up when he was trying so hard not to, but all that matters for the story to progress is getting through it and showing the scene and that he actually shot up. And of course, I _had_ to have the description of Axel's tattoo in this chapter so that I could reference it later in the story. I don't always have little hints like that in my outlines, but I plotted most of this story out before writing it.

Regardless, what this ends up becoming is a _lot_ of narration in the actual chapter. Only a couple paragraphs turns into thousands of words because what I've showed you here is only the outline. It isn't every single thing that'll happen, just a base for me to work from.

 **2\. I write the dialogue.** This part of plotting is almost always in shorthand with incomplete sentences and things like that when I narrate between the actual dialogue. A quick emotion or movement that comes to me when writing the dialogue itself. So here's an example from a different part of that same story, toward the beginning. This is what I'd originally had outlined for chapter 1 of _Cross Point_. Those of you who have read it might notice that this dialogue didn't come in until chapter 4.

 _K: "Did you just say... Never mind... What's up? Did you call to chat now that your hubby's awake? Because you know we're not opposed to giving you two a do not disturb sign if you need to work off some pent up energy. Call it physical therapy."_

 _B: "Can't do a damn thing with this catheter, Kitty Kat."_

 _K: "Oh, Lucy. He sounds as sexy as he looks!" she giggles. "The nurse should be by soon to take that out."_

 _B: "Can I just do it myself?"_

 _L: gapes. "Ew! No! You wait for a professional."_

 _B: "I've done it before, and my dick has survived..."_

 _L: "That's not the point and you know it."_

 _K: laughs. "See? Deny it all you want, sugar. You two are so in love."_

 _B: when Lucy goes to speak, he laughs and says, "Yeah we are so in love. Why do you think she's still here?"_

 _L: "Because I'm delusional, and a total bleeding heart," she mutters. Turns and scowls at him. "And because you scared the piss out of me!"_

 _B: "True, but that wasn't my intention, Cosplayer."_

 _K: croons, "Oh? You're his Cosplayer, huh? What's the last thing you dressed up as?"_

 _L: "A cheerleader," she answers automatically, her face turning bright red when Bix chuckles and waggles his eyebrows. "I-It wasn't like that though! We were in public! Oh god. I mean, I was like that on a stage in public... Damnit... Hey! Stop laughing at me!"_

 _K: giggles when she hears small masculine grunt. Sees nurse going toward their room. "Nurse Joy is on her way."_

 _L: calls back. "Thanks, Kat!"_

 _B: laughs when Lucy swats at him and misses. "Oh, you should so dress up as a cat next..." Tongue sticking out when Katya laughs and line cuts off._

 _L: Sighs and shakes her head, smiling up at him._

There's minimal narration there, it's mostly dialogue and moves us through the scene quickly because I'm only focused on what the characters are saying and not every little detail.

So what does this have to do with the character not saying the right thing and holding up your story?

Well, the scene I just showed is kinda crucial. We're getting to know Bickslow and Lucy in _this_ universe through their conversation. I could have changed this if I really needed to, but it was something that I wanted to keep in the story. And because I wanted to keep it, I needed to have good reasons for them talking like this. If I'd put this dialogue in the first chapter like I'd originally planned, we would have missed out on everything Lucy went through while Bickslow was in that coma. We wouldn't have known his side of things while he was unconscious. The humor would have seemed really out of place, even though Bickslow is a bit of a jokester, because at this point they've never talked to each other. But because I took the time to push this dialogue to a later part of the story, it wasn't out of the blue or out of character for them in this story.

In your own story, take a look at what's come before the scene you're struggling with. If you can get yourself back into that same mindset, then the words should just flow. If they're not, then there's something else you can try.

In a new document, copy a few paragraphs that precede the dialogue you're struggling with, then just start writing. This is a separate document, not the actual chapter, so you can do whatever you want with it. Let the characters speak for themselves. If you have a character that really just wants to say something, don't stop that character from doing it. Write out that dialogue and see where it takes you. It's hard to do when you have a specific plot in mind, but part of writing is _allowing_ yourself to just go crazy every once in awhile. Plot be damned. Let the characters talk and see how they react to what's happening as you write it.

You might find that this new direction is just what you needed for the story, and decide to keep it this way instead of how you'd originally planned. You might realize that everything you wrote in that separate document is a bunch of bullshit and it'll never make it into the story. Don't worry, we all do that.

I've had to cut out whole scenes, several thousand words worth of writing, because it wasn't fitting with the story.

Do you remember the cheating part of _Cross Point_? Originally, I had about four thousand words worth of them talking to each other and reconciling right away. There was a lot of Bickslow apologizing and crying. But when I went to write the chapter, Lucy and Bickslow did something I didn't expect. He decided to turn on her and walk out. He didn't stay to apologize and explain everything. He just left, like you guys saw in the final product. So all of that shit I'd written before, got tossed. Because when I looked at the two drafts, I liked him walking out and _not_ instantly fixing things a whole lot more than I liked them sobbing all over each other.

(This is also part of the reason my chapters take a little longer to come out sometimes, because I end up having to rework things during the writing process. Also, because I need to talk with my Triplets and have them reassure me that letting things just happen can make the story better. Sometimes, they help me pull it back when things get out of hand as well.)

But let's say you're adamant about having that planned dialogue. It's essential to the story. Maybe what you wrote on the side is good, and maybe it fits in the story, but you still need that one key piece for what you have planned next.

If that's the case, then consider this:

Is there enough information leading up to this dialogue you need? Is this really how that character would react or talk?

You always have the option of having that character say what you want them to and still letting the other characters around them speak or react however they want. It might make your story better that way. It might take you in new and interesting directions, too.

I hope this answered your question. The biggest thing to remember is that these characters we're writing have voices of their own, and sometimes the author has to just step back and let them take the reins for a little bit. You can always go back during revision to calm them right the fuck down. Sometimes they get a little too crazy.

* * *

 _ **Question 2:**_ _Posting stage fright._

You know, I had this problem for a long time before I started posting on FFnet. For months, I'd been reading NaLu and GaLu fics and wishing I could find some other really great stories to read. One day, I was driving home from work - it was an hour-long commute _without_ traffic - and I got an idea for a Bickslow and Lucy story. That damn Taylor Swift song "Shake Shake Shake" was on the radio, and I just got this picture in my head of Lucy singing it to Bickslow with a huge gash running down her leg from her hip to her ankle.

I just had to write it, to figure out what in the actual fuck had happened to her. I don't think I'd read any BixLu stories at that point. Still, I was scared to write it. I read stories from _Leoslady4ever_ and _Toxineena_ and so many others, and it just didn't seem like I could really make a go of writing my own story.

I was scared as hell to write it. Not even post it, just _write_. Weeks went by with me thinking about that story idea. Every time I heard that song (and even now when I hear that song), I'd picture that one scene. I figured out how Lucy got the injury to her leg while driving. I figured out that they were soulmates, and a good part of the lore for _He Might Be the One_ , while driving. After way too long, I couldn't take it anymore. It's all I could think about while I was at work. Since I was a Data Entry Specialist - typing information from customers' life insurance applications for eight hours every day - being distracted was really starting to affect me and my quota.

Still, I didn't write it, because I was scared. I didn't want to fuck it all up. I lost my job (for personal reasons, not related to thinking about the story). In June of 2014, I started going to college. Still, I didn't write out that story, even though it hadn't left my brain. Four months after I started school, when I was supposed to be writing an essay about Chaucer's _Canterbury Tales_ , I sat down and wrote the first chapter. I couldn't stop myself from writing it at that point. It was driving me insane. For nearly a year, I'd had it in my head, teasing me with hints of scenes.

So I had to write it. And when I'd written it… God, I was so wet behind the ears. I thought the first chapter was pure gold. I didn't know that I needed to revise things aside from looking for spelling or grammar errors. I didn't have a clue what it was really like to try and construct a plot or tension or anything else. I went from one chapter to the next and explored what was in my head. And I had so much fun doing it.

When I finished that first chapter, I was proud of it. I was proud of what I'd done. And I wanted to share it with other people, because back then, there really wasn't a whole lot in the way of crack pairings that were being written. In the past three years, this fandom has definitely grown in regards to the different pairings available.

But I figured out how to get the story uploaded on FFnet, and then I stared at the screen for an hour. I thought of a million reasons not to publish the story.

It isn't good enough. Other authors are so much better than me. I'm new to this and I don't know what I'm doing. I admire _Leoslady4ever_ and her writing is leagues ahead of mine (this is before I'd ever spoken to her or _LittlePrincessNana_ , and before the three of us realized we're "The Triplets". There was some serious fangirling that commenced when we all talked for the first time), and oh god what if she sees this and thinks I'm a horrible writer? What if no one likes it? What if all I get is hatred for writing it? What if no one ever reads it or reviews?

But I published it anyway. Because in the back of my head, I had one thought in mind.

 _ **I want to be a writer.**_

The fact that it got the attention it did, still baffles me. In the first day, I got five reviews. I was ecstatic. I screamed every time someone said they liked it. I wrote chapter 2 that night and posted it; it got four reviews that day, and one of them was _Leoslady4ever_. I screamed louder. An author I admired was enjoying my story?!

When I was starting out, every review I got made me want to keep writing. So I did. It wasn't as scary, knowing that people liked what I was writing.

And I know that my experience isn't the norm on this site. There are some amazing authors on FFnet that don't get the recognition they deserve. Maybe it's because that story in particular handled the whole NaLu vs. NaLi shipping dilemma right away, and made sure to put reader fears to rest concerning the "Lucy gets kicked off the team" and "Lucy is shunned now that Lisanna is back" that permeated so many stories back in 2014. I don't know.

But for those of you who want to write, I say go for it.

For those of you who are scared to post your stories, I understand. It's scary as hell letting your brain baby out into the world for other people to read and possibly get all shitty about. We all get the shitty reviews, and sometimes that's what makes people stop writing altogether. I'm fortunate enough to be able to mentally tell the shitty reviewers to suck my chafed, shit-covered, post-diarrhea asshole - only when they're not warranted comments or constructive criticism. Others aren't like that.

I've gotten a lot of requests from readers to check out their stories, to give pointers on things, and all that. Some of them are in that same boat, where they're scared as hell because _I just posted my first story ever!_ and I totally understand that. Whenever I get a request to read someone's story, I open it on my phone and it sits there until I have time to read it. But I always read up to the most recent chapter, and I try to give the best advice that I can in regards to those specific stories.

I might even do a chapter in this of some of the reviews I've given of things I've seen that could use improvement. Maybe.

But the point is this:

Even if you're scared to post it, do it anyway. Get that story to the point where you're like, "This is fucking awesome. I'm so stoked to write more!" Then post it. Just do it.

Someone out there _will_ like that story, even if your grammar isn't the best or if you misspell some words. There are readers that can look past half-cocked plots and all the other missteps we make as writers, because they want to read something. Maybe people will go in thinking, "Well, let's at least try it." And that's all you need. Someone willing to give it a shot.

So go for it. And if you want me to read that first chapter, let me know. I can't promise I'll read every chapter after that, unless it really catches my eye and makes me want to keep reading it, but I can at least read that and tell you what I think.

I'm not a writing genius. I only know what I like, and things that I've found that work. If there's something I say that you don't agree with, then so be it. That's for you to decide, and I won't be offended if you never take any advice I give. Because what I write in those reviews is just that, advice or a suggestion. It's up to each author to decide whether the things they read will sway their view on the story.

* * *

At one point, I got a wonderful review on this little Writing Corner from _kurahieiritr JIO_ , that I wanted to share with you all.

"As someone who was writing since the 80's, mostly as a means to vent pain and sorrow at the time, I have learned something about the writing impulse I'd like to share with you and everyone else. Some of us write for the expression of our own desire for entertainment and creativity yearnings, while others ARE AUTHORS. If you find you can best express yourself through type, then you are probably an Author, and it does not matter if you ever make a penny doing what you can no more stop doing, than you can stop breathing. So many people get discouraged if they cannot write the great novel from day one. They get upset when critiqued and lose their way. Yet it is the one who takes real critical input and cries in a corner for a week, only to find their brain sorting out the criticisms and contemplating them grows like an oak tree. The need to see if the complaints hold merit sink in and they fix their raw drafts. Such writers evolve into real authors. Trial and error should be the stuff of challenge and excitement for all of us being the point I'm offering here. Writing has style and grace. Learning and embracing changes is the spice of the writer that gains the most pay off."

This is something that I totally and completely agree with.

 _"Yet it is the one who takes real critical input and cries in a corner for a week, only to find their brain sorting out the criticisms and contemplating them grows like an oak tree. The need to see if the complaints hold merit sink in and they fix their raw drafts."_

* * *

Man, this one's getting long! Alright, let's get one last question in here.

 _ **Question 3:**_ _When will you be publishing some original works?_

It's funny you ask that. I started finally working on my novel trilogy this past November, for NaNoWriMo. I got 50k into the first book and by the end of the month, I was exhausted. You all know that I don't write just one story and stick to it. I've never been like that. I'm a serial writer, and I jump from one finished chapter to the next story. So it was a real test of my endurance to work on _only_ that novel every single day for an entire month.

I've gone back to read it a couple times and every time I do, I love where I was going with it. At the same time, I already see things that I'll need to remove for the time being and put later in the story, or later in the series itself. But I've had to force myself not to touch it. I'm not letting myself revise any of it past, "Oops, that's the wrong name for this character," or "Shit, I spelled that three different ways. I should probably sort out the spelling on it now before I get too much further."

Aside from that novel, I have one other story that is not fanfiction at all. It's currently only a short story, but I can't see it staying that way. One day, I'll go back to it and make it into a novel-length thing.

As for getting legitimately published, it's something I'd love to do. I'm still working on getting to that point though. Part of what holds me back is that I spend so much of my free time writing fanfiction that I don't work on my own original pieces. I'm really dedicated to my readers here on FFnet, and even though I've had several people tell me that they'd buy a book I released, it's a matter of forcing myself to step away from fanfiction to actually work on that damn thing. At this point, it'll be a bit before that happens.

I don't want to leave all of you guys hanging. I feel really guilty for things really easily, so even if no one asks, "When are you gonna update?" I still have it in my mind that there's a whole gaggle of readers staring at the screen going, "What the fuck are you doing?! Where are my stories?!" Which, in turn, makes me feel like an asshole for not updating faster. Which is why I apologize at the beginning of pretty much every chapter in every story for the long wait on an update.

So, um… I'll publish a novel eventually. I can't write "real" short stories to save my life, so the shortest anything I publish would be is a novella.

You can rest assured though. Whenever it happens, whenever I finally finish that novel, and when I find a publisher that'll take it on, or if I decide to self-publish… I'll be shouting that shit from every social media platform and letting _everyone_ know about it.

I've even considered getting my work published under this pen name, to be honest. Because, in my eyes, it'll make recognizing the author that much easier for some people. For those of you who don't know my real name, but you know my username on FFnet or tumblr or Facebook, seeing a book written by "Gem Nika" would be pretty damn telling on just who wrote it. I don't know. We'll see when the time comes.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm still trying to get through the questions, and there really have been some great ones in the reviews! Feel free to keep asking.

As a side note, CoLu Week 2017 has been announced. I'll be posting the details on my profile in the coming week, and will create a CoLu Week 2017 story soon, even though the event isn't until August.

Also, I might not have time to write anything for my stories this coming week. I have to read the first 200 pages of a novel by Thursday, as well as create a 5 minute video presentation that analyzes the (insert technical mumbo jumbo) of a director of my choosing... Totally making a video about Rob Zombie. For anyone who's interested, I can put a link to the Vimeo page on Tumblr and Facebook, and I'll edit this chapter with the link as well once it's finished on June 4th.

So, I'll be super busy this week. I hope I can get some writing done soon though. This is the last thing I have I my finished queue.

Until next time!

~~GemNika.


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